Saddle-type vehicle

ABSTRACT

A saddle-type vehicle includes a vehicle body frame including a main frame extending obliquely rearward and downward from a head pipe, and a seat frame extending rearward from the main frame and supporting a riding seat, wherein a front wheel is supported by a front portion of the vehicle body frame via a front fork, and a rear wheel is supported by a rear portion of the vehicle body frame via a swing arm, and a vehicle height adjustment device provided below the seat frame to elastically support the seat frame and configured to adjust a height of the seat frame. The vehicle height adjustment device includes an actuator unit and a cushion unit connected with each other by a pipe. The actuator unit has a stepped portion, and at least a part of the cushion unit is disposed in a space formed by the stepped portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of priority of JapanesePatent Application No. 2017-148281, filed on Jul. 31, 2017, the contentof which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a straddle-type vehicle, and moreparticularly, to a straddle-type vehicle including a vehicle heightadjustment device for adjusting a vehicle height.

BACKGROUND ART

JP-A-2011-11683 discloses a motorcycle including a vehicle heightadjustment device which includes a suspension spring, a cushion unit(shock absorber) vertically movable by hydraulic pressure supplied to ajack chamber, and an actuator unit (vehicle height adjustment pump)connected to the shock absorber by a pipe of a hydraulic system, andwhich is capable of adjusting a vehicle height by vertically moving aseat rail by vertical movement of the shock absorber.

In the structure disclosed in JP-A-2011-11683, the cushion unit isattached to a center portion in a vehicle left-right direction near aswing axis of a swing arm which supports a rear wheel, while theactuator unit is attached to an outer side of the seat rail whichsupports a riding seat. That is, the cushion unit and the actuator unitare disposed apart from each other, which leaves room for improvement oncompactness.

SUMMARY

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,and an aspect of the present invention provides a saddle-type vehicle inwhich a cushion unit and an actuator unit can be compactly disposed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided:

(1) a saddle-type vehicle including:

a vehicle body frame including a main frame extending obliquely rearwardand downward from a head pipe, and a seat frame extending rearward fromthe main frame and supporting a riding seat, wherein a front wheel issupported by a front portion of the vehicle body frame via a front fork,and a rear wheel is supported by a rear portion of the vehicle bodyframe via a swing arm; and

a vehicle height adjustment device provided below the seat frame toelastically support the seat frame and configured to adjust a height ofthe seat frame, wherein the vehicle height adjustment device includes anactuator unit and a cushion unit connected with each other by a pipe,and wherein the actuator unit has a stepped portion, and at least a partof the cushion unit is disposed in a space formed by the steppedportion.

-   -   (2) In the saddle-type vehicle of (1), the actuator unit may        include a cylinder and a motor, and the stepped portion may be        formed by the cylinder and the motor.    -   (3) In the saddle-type vehicle of (2), the cylinder and the        motor may have a same axis line and different diameters.    -   (4) In the saddle-type vehicle of (2) or (3), the motor may be        configured to drive a piston in the cylinder in an axial        direction of the cylinder and has a diameter larger than that of        the cylinder, and in a cross section orthogonal to a motion line        of the cushion unit, a part of the cushion unit may be        positioned closer to the cylinder than an imaginary line drawn        from an outer peripheral surface of the motor in parallel with        an axis line of the actuator unit.    -   (5) In the saddle-type vehicle of any one of (1) to (4), an axis        line of the actuator unit may be disposed to be orthogonal to a        motion line of the cushion unit when viewed from a front-rear        direction of the vehicle.    -   (6) In the saddle-type vehicle of any one of (1) to (5), the        actuator unit may be disposed between the cushion unit and an        engine.    -   (7) In the saddle-type vehicle of any one of (1) to (6), the        actuator unit may be supported on both sides of an axial        direction.    -   (8) In the saddle-type vehicle of (7), the actuator unit may be        fastened to a left frame and a right frame of the vehicle body        frame via attachment stays.    -   (9) In the saddle-type vehicle of (8), the attachment stays may        be attached to an inner side of the left frame and an inner side        of the right frame, respectively, and at least one of the        attachment stays includes a protruding piece which forms a space        with a facing frame of the left frame and the right frame.    -   (10) In the saddle-type vehicle of any one of (1) to (9), the        actuator unit may be disposed such that an axis line thereof is        orthogonal to a front-rear direction and an upper-lower        direction of the vehicle body.

EFFECTS

According to the saddle-type vehicle of (1), the vehicle heightadjustment device which elastically supports the seat frame and canadjust the height of the seat frame is provided below the seat frame,and the vehicle height adjustment device includes the actuator unit andthe cushion unit which are connected with each other by the pipe. Theactuator unit has the stepped portion, and at least a part of thecushion unit is disposed in the space formed by the stepped portion.Therefore, the actuator unit can be compactly disposed close to thecushion unit.

According to the saddle-type vehicle of (2), the actuator unit includesthe cylinder and the motor, and the stepped portion is formed by thecylinder and the motor.

Therefore, the actuator unit and the cushion unit can be brought closeto each other by utilizing the stepped portion formed by the cylinderand the motor, and the space inside the vehicle body can be effectivelyutilized without waste.

According to the saddle-type vehicle of (3), the cylinder and the motorhave the same axial line and different diameters, so that the steppedportion can be formed around the same axis line between the cylinder andthe motor, and the space for receiving a part of the cushion unit can beformed accordingly.

According to the saddle-type vehicle of (4), the motor is configured todrive a piston in the cylinder in an axial direction of the cylinder andhas a diameter larger than that of the cylinder. Further, in the crosssection orthogonal to the motion line of the cushion unit, a part of thecushion unit is positioned closer to the cylinder than the imaginaryline drawn from the outer peripheral surface of the motor and inparallel with the axis line, so that the actuator unit and the cushionunit are compactly disposed.

According to the saddle-type vehicle of (5), the axis line of theactuator unit is disposed to be orthogonal to the motion line of thecushion unit when viewed from the front-rear direction of the vehicle,so that the actuator unit and the cushion unit can be more compactlydisposed.

According to the saddle-type vehicle of (6), the actuator unit isdisposed between the cushion unit and the engine, so that the actuatorunit can be disposed near the gravity center of the vehicle body, and aheavy load can be centralized on the gravity center of the vehicle body.

According to the saddle-type vehicle of (7), the actuator unit issupported on both sides in the direction of the axis line of theactuator unit, so that the actuator unit can be securely fixed to thevehicle body, and vibration resistance can be enhanced. Further, theoccurrence of moment can be suppressed.

According to the saddle-type vehicle of (8), the actuator unit isfastened to the left frame and the right frame of the vehicle body framevia the attachment stays, so that the actuator unit is securely fixedacross the left frame and the right frame.

According to the saddle-type vehicle of (9), the attachment stays areattached to the inner side of the left frame and the inner side of theright frame, respectively, so that the protrusion of the actuator unitcan be prevented, and the actuator unit can be protected by the leftframe and the right frame. Further, the protruding piece which forms thespace with a facing frame of the left frame or the right frame isprovided, so that the component such as an electrical component can beappropriately held by the protruding piece, and the held component canbe protected by the frame.

According to the saddle-type vehicle of (10), the axis line of theactuator unit is disposed to be orthogonal to the front-rear directionand the upper-lower direction of the vehicle body, so that the spaceinside the vehicle body can be effectively utilized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a left side view of a motorcycle according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view of the motorcycle shown in FIG.1 illustrating an actuator unit and a cushion unit by taking out a partof the motorcycle.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of the actuator unit and the cushionunit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the actuator unit and the cushion unitin the motorcycle shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along a line X-X in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the actuator unit as viewed from a frontleft side of the vehicle to illustrate a state where the actuator unitis attached to a vehicle body frame as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the actuator unit as viewed from a rearright side of the vehicle to illustrate a state where the actuator unitis attached to the vehicle body frame as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of an attachment stay shown inFIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the actuator unit and the cushion unit in themotorcycle shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the front of the vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a motorcycle which is a saddle-type vehicle according to anembodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 1 to 9.

The drawings should be seen based on a direction of reference numerals.In the following description, front and rear, left and right, and upperand lower are described according to the direction seen from a driver.In the drawings, the front side of the vehicle is denoted as Fr, therear side is denoted as Rr, the left side is denoted as L, the rightside is denoted as R, the upper side is denoted as U, and the lower sideis denoted as D.

FIG. 1 is a left side view of an entire motorcycle 10 according to anembodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the motorcycle 10 includes a vehicle body frame 11which includes a head pipe 21, a pair of right and left main frames 22,a pair of right and left center frames 23, a seat frame 24, and a downframe 26. The motorcycle 10 is a straddle-type vehicle for a rally inwhich a front wheel 13 is supported by a front portion of the vehiclebody frame 11 via a front fork 12, a rear wheel 16 is supported by arear portion of the vehicle body frame 11 via a swing arm 14, and ariding seat 17 is supported by an upper portion of the vehicle bodyframe 11.

The head pipe 21 configures a front end portion of the vehicle bodyframe 11, and the front fork 12 is steerably supported by the head pipe21. A bar handle 31 is attached to an upper end portion of the frontfork 12, and the front wheel 13 is supported by a lower end portion ofthe front fork 12 via an axle 32.

The main frame 22 linearly extends obliquely rearward and downward fromthe head pipe 21 in a side view. The center frame 23 is curved in asubstantially arc shape so as to be convex rearward from a rear endportion of the main frame 22, and a pivot shaft 35 extending in avehicle width direction is supported at a position near a lower side ofa portion which is curved most rearward. Further, a front end portion ofthe swing arm 14 is vertically swingably supported by the pivot shaft35, and the rear wheel 16 is supported at a rear end portion of theswing arm 14 via an axle 36.

The seat frame 24 is configured as a monocoque resin frame, for example,and is attached to the pair of right and left main frames 22 and thepair of right and left center frames 23 (a left frame 23L, a right frame23R). The riding seat 17 is attached on the seat frame 24, and a resinmade rear fuel tank 38 is attached in a rear portion of the seat frame24.

The down frame 26 includes a down frame upper portion 26A configuring anupper portion thereof and a pair of left and right down frame lowerportions 26B configuring a lower portion thereof. The down frame upperportion 26A extends substantially downward from the head pipe 21 at anangle steeper than that of the main frame 22. The down frame lowerportions 26B extend downward from a lower end portion of the down frameupper portion 26A in a side view and branch to the left and right, andfurther bend and extend substantially horizontally rearward so as toconnect with lower end portions of the center frames 23.

A plurality of cross pipes extending in the vehicle width direction arepassed to the left and right center frames 23, and a cushion unit 28 isdisposed between a cross pipe 27 (see FIG. 7) provided at an upper sideand the swing arm 14.

An engine 41 is supported by the down frame lower portion 26B of thevehicle body frame 11 and the pivot shaft 35. The engine 41 includes acrankcase 42 and a cylinder portion 43 extending upward from a frontupper portion of the crankcase 42 and a transmission 44 is attached to arear portion of the crankcase 42. A starter motor 70 and an actuatorunit 2 (described later) are disposed in order from the front of thevehicle body in an engine stepped portion 41 d formed by a rear surface43 r of the cylinder portion 43 and an upper surface 42 u of thecrankcase 42 (see FIG. 2).

The cylinder portion 43 includes a cylinder block 46 attached to thecrankcase 42, a cylinder head 47 attached to an upper end portion of thecylinder block 46, and a head cover 48 covering an upper opening of thecylinder head 47. Further, an intake device 51 is connected to a rearsurface of the cylinder head 47, and an exhaust device 52 is connectedto a front surface of the cylinder head 47.

A drive sprocket 39 is attached to an output shaft 44 a of thetransmission 44. A chain 65 is wound around the drive sprocket 39 and adriven sprocket 49 provided integrally on the rear wheel 16, so thatdriving force is transmitted from the transmission 44 to the rear wheel16.

A pair of left and right front fuel tanks 66 are disposed on both sidesof the main frame 22, the down frame 26 and the engine 41. In a rallycompetition, since the vehicle runs over a long distance, a large tankcapacity shall be ensured by the pair of left and right front fuel tanks66 and the rear fuel tank 38.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view of the motorcycle 10 shown inFIG. 1 illustrating the actuator unit 2 and the cushion unit 28 bytaking out a part of the motorcycle. FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view ofthe actuator unit 2 and the cushion unit 28.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, below the seat frame 24, a vehicle heightadjustment device 1 which elastically supports the seat frame 24 and canadjust a height of the seat frame 24 is provided between the seat frame24 and the swing arm 14. The vehicle height adjustment device 1 includesthe substantially tubular actuator unit 2 extending in a left-rightdirection of the vehicle, and the substantially cylindrical cushion unit28 extending in an upper-lower direction of the vehicle. The actuatorunit 2 and the cushion unit 28 are connected with each other by a pipe 4of a hydraulic system. Further, an actuator control device 30 (see FIG.4) for controlling the actuator unit 2 is connected to the actuator unit2.

Hereinafter, structures of the actuator unit 2 and the cushion unit 28will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the actuator unit 2 and the cushionunit 28, FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along a line X-X in FIG.3, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the actuator unit 2 as viewed from afront left side of the vehicle to illustrate a state where the actuatorunit 2 is attached to the vehicle body frame 11. FIG. 7 is a perspectiveview of the actuator unit 2 as viewed from a rear right side of thevehicle to illustrate a state where the actuator unit 2 is attached tothe vehicle body frame 11, FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of aright attachment stay 80R, and FIG. 9 is a front view of the actuatorunit 2 and the cushion unit 28 as viewed from the front of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 4, the actuator unit 2 includes a cylinder 3, a piston3 p slidably inserted in the cylinder 3, a pump chamber 3 c connected toone end of a pipe 4 and partitioned by the piston 3 p in the cylinder 3,and a motor 5 with a diameter larger than that of the cylinder 3. A ballscrew 6 is provided in the motor 5. The ball screw 6 converts arotational motion of the motor 5 into a linear motion of the piston 3 p.The cylinder 3 and the motor 5 have a same axis line SL. In other words,the motor 5 rotates around an axis of the cylinder 3.

The cushion unit 28 includes a substantially tubular cushion main body28 a and a suspension spring 28 s. An upper end attachment portion 28 uof the cushion main body 28 a is supported by a cross pipe bracket 27 bof the cross pipe 27 (see FIG. 7), and a lower end attachment portion 28d is supported by the swing arm 14. A spring receiving portion 28 bsupporting one end (upper end) of the suspension spring 28 s is providedat a lower side of the cushion main body 28 a. The spring receivingportion 28 b has a piston function that an upper spring receivingportion 28 bu thereof can move up and down (in a direction of arrow Y)in a jack chamber 28 j. That is, the spring receiving portion 28 b canreceive hydraulic pressure P of the pump chamber 3 c of the cylinder 3by the pipe 4 connected to the jack chamber 28 j and move up and down inthe jack chamber 28 j. Incidentally, the cushion unit 28 according tothe present embodiment is configured such that a tubular pressureraising unit 28 p controlling the hydraulic system is provided adjacentto the cushion main body 28 a at a lower portion of the upper endattachment portion 28 u (see FIG. 3).

The motor 5 of the actuator unit 2 is controlled by appropriatelyrotating a knob G of an operation switch SW (in a direction of arrow M),for example. That is, an operation signal of the operation switch SW istransmitted to the actuator control device 30 via a signal line 30 a,and then sent from the actuator control device 30 to the motor 5 via asignal line 30 b so as to perform a movement operation of the piston 3p. When the piston 3 p moves forward, a volume of the pump chamber 3 cdecreases, the hydraulic pressure P is supplied to the jack chamber 28j, a volume of the jack chamber 28 j increases, and the spring receivingportion 28 b moves downward in FIG. 4, so that a vehicle height can beincreased. On the contrary, when the hydraulic pressure P is dischargedfrom the jack chamber 28 j, the spring receiving portion 28 b is movedupward in FIG. 4 by a biasing force of the suspension spring 28 scompressing the jack chamber 28 j, and the volume of the jack chamber 28j decreases, so that the vehicle height is decreased.

The actuator unit 2 and the cushion unit 28 are disposed as shown inFIG. 5. In a cross section orthogonal to a motion line ML of the cushionunit 28, a part of the cushion unit 28 is positioned closer to thecylinder 3 than an imaginary line KL drawn from an outer peripheralsurface 5 s of the motor 5 and in parallel with the axis line SL. Thatis, the actuator unit 2 has a stepped portion 2 d formed by an outerdiameter difference between a large diameter portion and a smalldiameter portion and is configured such that a part of the cushion unit28 enters a space 2 ds formed by the stepped portion 2 d. Therefore, theouter peripheral surface 5 s of the motor 5 of the actuator unit 2 isclosely provided to overlap with the cushion unit 28 as viewed from anaxial direction of the motor 5. In the motor 5 and the cylinder 3 whichhave the same axis line SL and different diameters, the stepped portion2 d may be formed by the motor 5 which is the large diameter portion andthe cylinder 3 which is the small diameter portion, or may also beformed by a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion of themotor 5 which has different diameters by itself.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the axis line SL of the actuator unit 2 isorthogonal to a front-rear direction and the upper-lower direction ofthe vehicle, and that is, the actuator unit 2 horizontally extends inthe left-right direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the actuator unit2 is disposed such that the axis line SL thereof intersects, morepreferably, orthogonal to the motion line ML of the cushion unit 28which extends in the upper-lower direction when viewed from thefront-rear direction of the vehicle.

Further, the actuator unit 2 is disposed between the engine 41 and thecushion unit 28 (see FIGS. 2, 3, and 5). Further, the actuator unit 2 isdisposed adjacent to the starter motor 70 in the above-mentioned enginestepped portion 41 d. As can be clearly seen from FIG. 3, the engine 41,the starter motor 70, the actuator unit 2 and the cushion unit 28 aredisposed on the motorcycle 10 in this order from the front side of thevehicle body.

Hereinafter, a support structure of the actuator unit 2 will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

The actuator unit 2 is supported on both sides in an axis line SLdirection. Specifically, the actuator unit 2 is supported on both sidesin the axis line SL direction and on the axis line SL. The actuator unit2 is fastened to a left attachment stay 80L by a left fixing bolt 91(see FIG. 6) and is fastened to the right attachment stay 80R by a rightfixing bolt 92 (see FIG. 7).

The left attachment stay 80L and the right attachment stay 80R havedifferent shapes on the left and right. As shown in FIG. 6, the leftattachment stay 80L attached to the left frame 23L is a substantiallyrhombic plate shaped member taking a motor fixing portion 80 m to whichthe left fixing bolt 91 is attached as a center. The left attachmentstay 80L has attachment holes at four vertexes of the rhombus, andattachment bolts 93 are inserted into three attachment holes out of thefour attachment holes and fastened to an inner side of the left frame23L. Specifically, among the three attachment bolts 93, two of which atan upper rear side and a lower rear side are screwed from the inner sideof the left frame 23L, and the attachment bolt 93 at an upper front sideis screwed, from an outer side, to a bracket 23Lb protruding downwardfrom a front side of the left frame 23L, so that the left attachmentstay 80L is attached to the left frame 23L. Incidentally, the remainingone attachment hole at a lower front side is a motor fixing portionfastened to the actuator unit 2.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the right attachment stay 80Rattached to the right frame 23R is a plate shaped member with asubstantially Y shape which extends to the front side of the vehiclefrom an upper portion of a cylinder fixing portion 80 c to which theright fixing bolt 92 is attached and extends obliquely upward anddownward from a front end portion thereof. Further, the right attachmentstay 80R is fastened to an inner side of the right frame 23R via twoattachment bolts 94. Specifically, the rear attachment bolt 94 isscrewed from the inner side of the right frame 23R, and the frontattachment bolt 94 is screwed, from an outer side, to a bracket 23Rbprotruding downward from a front side of the right frame 23R, so thatthe right attachment stay 80R is attached to the right frame 23R.

In this way, the left attachment stay 80L and the right mounting stay80R are attached to the inner side of the left frame 23L and the innerside of the right frame 23R, respectively. Further, in the presentembodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the right attachment stay 80R hasa protruding piece 85 which forms a space SP with the right frame 23R.That is, the protruding piece 85 is fixed to an inner side of the rightattachment stay 80R via a pair of screws 95, for example, and extendsdownward. Furthermore, a holder 86 is provided at an outer side of theprotruding piece 85, and a component 90 such as a connector, forexample, is detachably mounted to the holder 86.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the vehicleheight adjustment device 1 which elastically supports the seat frame 24and can adjust the height of the seat frame 24 is provided below theseat frame 24, and the vehicle height adjustment device 1 includes theactuator unit 2 and the cushion unit 28 which are connected with eachother by the pipe 4. The actuator unit 2 has the stepped portion 2 d,and at least a part of the cushion unit 28 is disposed in the space 2 dsformed by the stepped portion 2 d. Therefore, the actuator unit 2 can bedisposed close to the cushion unit 28. That is, the cushion unit 28 andthe actuator unit 2 can be compactly disposed by utilizing the steppedportion 2 d of the actuator unit 2.

The actuator unit 2 includes the cylinder 3 and the motor 5, and thestepped portion 2 d is formed by the cylinder 3 and the motor 5.Therefore, the actuator unit 2 and the cushion unit 28 can be broughtclose to each other by utilizing the stepped portion 2 d formed by thecylinder 3 and the motor 5, and the space inside the vehicle body can beeffectively utilized without waste.

Since the cylinder 3 and the motor 5 have the same axial line SL anddifferent diameters, the stepped portion 2 d can be formed around thesame axis line between the cylinder 3 and the motor 5, and the space 2ds for receiving a part of the cushion unit 28 can be formedaccordingly.

The motor 5 is configured to drive the piston 3 p in the cylinder 3 inan axial direction of the cylinder 3 and has a diameter larger than thatof the cylinder 3. In the cross section orthogonal to the motion line MLof the cushion unit 28, a part of the cushion unit 28 is positionedcloser to the cylinder 3 than the imaginary line KL drawn from the outerperipheral surface 5 s of the motor 5 and in parallel with the axis lineSL, so that the actuator unit 2 and the cushion unit 28 are compactlydisposed.

Further, the actuator unit 2 and the cushion unit 28 can be morecompactly disposed by disposing the axis line SL of the actuator unit 2to be orthogonal to the motion line ML of the cushion unit 28 whenviewed from the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

Since the actuator unit 2 is disposed between the cushion unit 28 andthe engine 41, the actuator unit 2 can be disposed near the gravitycenter of the vehicle body, and a heavy load can be centralized on thegravity center of the vehicle body accordingly.

Since the actuator unit 2 is supported on both sides in the direction ofthe axis line SL of the actuator unit 2, the actuator unit 2 can besecurely fixed to the vehicle body, and vibration resistance can beenhanced.

The actuator unit 2 is securely fixed across the left frame 23L and theright frame 23R by being fastened to the left frame 23L and the rightframe 23R of the vehicle body frame 11 via the attachment stays 80L,80R.

Since the attachment stays 80L, 80R are attached to the inner side ofthe left frame 23L and the inner side of the right frame 23R,respectively, the actuator unit 2 can be prevented from protruding tothe outer side of the left and right frames, and therefore, the actuatorunit 2 can be protected by the left frame 23L and the right frame 23R.Further, the protruding piece 85 is provided which forms the space SPwith a facing frame of the left frame 23L or the right frame 23R, sothat the component 90 such as an electrical component can beappropriately held by the protruding piece 85, and the held component 90can be protected by the vehicle body frame 11.

Furthermore, since the axis line SL of the actuator unit 2 is disposedto be orthogonal to the front-rear direction and the upper-lowerdirection of the vehicle body, the space inside the vehicle body can beeffectively utilized.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been describedabove, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment but can bemodified as appropriate.

For example, in the actuator unit 2, the stepped portion formed by theouter diameter difference between the large diameter portion and thesmall diameter portion may be a stepped portion formed by a largediameter portion of the motor 5 and a small diameter portion of themotor 5, or may be formed by the motor 5 with a large diameter and thecylinder 3 with a small diameter.

In the embodiment described above, the protruding piece 85 is providedon the right attachment stay 80R to form the space SP for accommodatinga component, while the space SP for accommodating a component may alsobe provided on the left attachment stay 80L, or on both of theattachment stays 80L, 80R.

Further, shapes of the attachment stays 80L, 80R are not limited to theillustrated shapes in the above embodiment and can be modified asappropriate.

Furthermore, a motorcycle has been described in the embodiment describedabove, but the inventive concept of present invention may be applied toother saddle-type vehicles such as a buggy.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A saddle-type vehicle comprising: a vehiclebody frame including a main frame extending obliquely rearward anddownward from a head pipe, and a seat frame extending rearward from themain frame and supporting a riding seat, wherein a front wheel issupported by a front portion of the vehicle body frame via a front fork,and a rear wheel is supported by a rear portion of the vehicle bodyframe via a swing arm; and a vehicle height adjustment device providedbelow the seat frame to elastically support the seat frame andconfigured to adjust a height of the seat frame, wherein the vehicleheight adjustment device includes an actuator unit and a cushion unitconnected with each other by a pipe, wherein the actuator unit includes:a cylinder; and a motor which drives a piston in the cylinder and has adiameter larger than a diameter of the cylinder, and a stepped portionis formed around a same axis line between the cylinder and the motor, bythe cylinder and the motor, and at least a part of the cushion unit isdisposed in a space formed by the stepped portion.
 2. The saddle-typevehicle according to claim 1, wherein the motor is configured to drivethe piston in an axial direction of the cylinder, and wherein in a crosssection orthogonal to a motion line of the cushion unit, a part of thecushion unit is positioned closer to the cylinder than an imaginary linedrawn from an outer peripheral surface of the motor in parallel with anaxis line of the actuator unit.
 3. The saddle-type vehicle according toclaim 1, wherein an axis line of the actuator unit is disposed to beorthogonal to a motion line of the cushion unit when viewed from afront-rear direction of the vehicle.
 4. The saddle-type vehicleaccording to claim 1, wherein the actuator unit is disposed between thecushion unit and an engine.
 5. The saddle-type vehicle according toclaim 1, wherein the actuator unit is supported on both sides of anaxial direction.
 6. The saddle-type vehicle according to claim 5,wherein the actuator unit is fastened to a left frame and a right frameof the vehicle body frame via attachment stays.
 7. The saddle-typevehicle according to claim 6, wherein the attachment stays are attachedto an inner side of the left frame and an inner side of the right frame,respectively, and wherein at least one of the attachment stays includesa protruding piece which forms a space with a facing frame of the leftframe and the right frame.
 8. The saddle-type vehicle according to claim1, wherein the actuator unit is disposed such that an axis line thereofis orthogonal to a front-rear direction and an upper-lower direction ofthe vehicle.